Equifax has a new app (iOS, Android) that’s meant to make it easy to lock and unlock access to your credit files, one of the measures the company’s taking to save face after a security breach last year left 145 million people vulnerable to financial fraud and identity theft. But you’re probably better off just freezing your credit than messing with the company’s new offering.

The New York Times has an in-depth post about how time-consuming it can be to set up the app (if you can at all). I tried to sign up and it couldn’t verify my identity, so I’m waiting a few days for them to snail mail me a verification code (I could try calling them, but I value my time much more than that). This may be unsurprising to people who tried to see if they were victims of the hack on Equifax’s website or sign up for its TrustedID Premier service, both of which were flawed “services” that did more to irritate consumers than do any real good.

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What I did learn, however, has me questioning how useful it really is. Of course, it only works for access to your Equifax report—there are two other agencies (Experian and TransUnion) you’d also have to lock down. And then there are all the exceptions to the lock: Equifax Global Consumer Solutions, federal, state, and local government agencies, companies reviewing your employment application, companies you have a pre-existing relationship with, collection agencies, fraud detection services, and companies that wish to make pre-approved offers of credit or insurance to you.

Another reason: The credit lock is simply an agreement between you and Equifax, according to Consumer Reports, that can change at any time, whereas a credit freeze guarantees by law to protect your accounts.

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“Having a contractual agreement is not as strong as having protections under law,” Christina Tetreault, a staff attorney on the financial services team at Consumers Union, told Consumer Reports. “The contract may be unclear, may include provisions that allow the other party to change it, or include provisions that you may be better off not agreeing to, such as an arbitration agreement.”

The Times notes that the app’s user agreement says it can change the agreement at any time (though it says it will not have an arbitration agreement, unlike its TrustedID Premier).

On the other hand, if your accounts are fraudulently accessed when you have a credit freeze on them, you’re protected from financial liability by state law.

The downside here is the convenience: It’s harder to undo a freeze, which is why Equifax has been pushing locks. Unfreezing your accounts takes a few days, and there’s a pin to remember.

Freezing your credit also has a cost, which depends on the state. But as Consumer Report notes, it’s likely to be cheaper than locking your credit. That’s because while TransUnion and now Equifax offer free locks, you have to pay to lock your credit at Experian (it’s $4.99 the first month, then $24.99 each month). And locking two of your three reports doesn’t really do much.

The process for freezing your report is pretty easy, but unfortunately, you may have to pay a $5 to $10 fee to freeze your report with each bureau. Here’s where you can go to sign up for a freeze at each of the three major credit bureaus: